India Bans 138 Chinese Betting Apps In Yet Another Digital Surgical Strike; Here’s The Full List

Escalating its digital surgical strike on China, India has now undertaken a fresh round of app bans in the country, targeting as many as 138 offshore betting platforms.

In an order issued on February 5, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) directed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to ban and block as many as 232 apps that either originate or have links to China. These included 138 betting apps and 94 online lending apps. 

Sources said that the apps in question were flouting Section 69 of the IT Act. Additionally, senior officials of the ministry are of the opinion that these apps contained material, which was purportedly a threat to the sovereignty and integrity of the country.

India’s Crackdown On China-Linked Apps

Another overarching theme that appears to have figured prominently in the government’s debate on the matter was that these lending apps were trapping Indians in debt and were charging exorbitant interest rates on Indian consumers. 

The ban comes amid growing clamour from citizens and consumers to tighten noose on digital loan apps, which have been accused of harassing borrowers. The situation has been complicated by the presence of Chinese entities and nationals that operate such platforms. 

In the ongoing crackdown on such apps over the course of last year, it has emerged that many of these Chinese lending apps take control of users’ phones and send sensitive information to digital lenders. In many cases, it has emerged that many such apps allegedly blackmail people with morphed pictures during debt collection. 

These platforms have pushed many into debt traps. As a result, many instances of young and adults dying by suicide have come to the fore in the past few years. While the government has directed Google to clamp down on such apps on its marketplace, efforts have so far yielded very few results.

Surprisingly, the websites of homegrown lendingtech players such as Prosus-backed PayU’s LazyPay and Kissht have been blocked in the country, although their apps can still be downloaded from Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store.

On the other hand, betting apps have also hit the news for all the wrong reasons. Many such platforms lure users with high returns and then trap them into a cycle of heavy payments but no winnings.

Instances have also emerged where many Chinese nationals allegedly operated multiple entities, in connivance with Indians, to operate fraud online gaming platforms. Many such platforms have also used proceeds from these fake apps to launder money and send them across the border. 

These betting websites operate without any oversight and are based outside India, making it difficult to prosecute these companies in the event of a legal case.

Many of these betting platforms have also been operating under the garb of sports blogs and employ surrogate methods to woo users. 

This comes close on the heels of the Indian government directing search giant Google to stop displaying all kinds of ads from overseas online betting companies. Earlier, the union government had also urged the broadcasters and video streaming services to not air ads related to online betting.

The move comes nearly a year after the Union government banned 54 apps over apprehensions of either having originated in China or having some Chinese connection. 

The app ban saga began in 2020 after the centre imposed the very first ban of 59 apps in June that year. Big names, including short video platform TikTok, file sharing app ShareIt, and UC Browser, among other popular apps were affected in the melee. 

In between, multiple bans were imposed, which impacted as many as 320 Chinese apps. Counting the current 232 apps, the total number now stands at 552.

Here’s The Full List Of China-Linked Betting Apps That Have Been Banned By The Government:

1. Sports Betting Game – BETUP 
2. 3patti Guide 
3. Lagai Khai Pro – Betting Game 
4. Sports Betting™ the Sportsbook 
5. WagerLab Bet on Sports & Props 
6. Live Bet Zlive 
7. BetNetix: Football Betting 
8. Bet On Sports 
9. SuperDraft Sportsbook – Prizes 
10. Lucky slots -casino VIP 
11. Betway – Live Sports Betting 
12. 1xBet: sports betting 
13. Parimatch: Live Sports Betting 
14. 22Bet: Live Sports Betting 
15. Cricket: Sports Betting 
16. BetWiser – Best Betting Odd 
17. Bet On Sports 
18. 20Bet 
19. Lagai Khai Pro 
20. BETUP – Sports Betting Game 
21. BetQL – Sports Betting Data 
22. Scores And Odds Sports Betting 
23. VegasInsider Sports Betting 
24. BettingPros: Sports Betting 
25. Best Bet Casino™ Slot Games 
26. Win2Win 
27. TipsterMan – Betting Tips 
28. Papel Betting Tips 
29. Betting United: Betting Tips 
30. Football Betting Tips & Odds 
31. Sports Betting Picks & Tip App 
32. Onside Sports: Scores, Live Od 
33. London Betting Tips 
34. Bet Analytix 
35. betM – Sports Betting Tool 
36. Betting Tips 
37. SI – Betting tips 
38. Betting Tips 
39. BetMines Betting Predictions 
40. Betstamp – Sports Betting Hub 
41. Virtual Sports Betting Predict 
42. SattaMatka Fix Game 
43. Play To Win: Win Real Money 
44. Sports Betting for Real 
45. Pikkit: Sports Bet Tracker 
46. myVEGAS Bingo – Bingo Games 
47. Bingo Crown – Fun Bingo Games 
48. Bingo Crown – Fun Bingo Games 
49. Spin for Cash!-Real Money Slot 
50. Crash Rocket Gambling 
51. Casino Real Money: Win Cash 
52. Super Slot – Win Cash 
53. Golden Slots 
54. Enchanted Island 
55. Big Winner – Lucky Wheel 
56. Silver Luck 
57. Anubis Treasure 
58. 3 Lucky Casino 
59. Divine Fortune 2 
60. Happy 3Patti 
61. DoubleU Casino™ – Vegas Slots 
62. Block Online Gambling – Gamban 
63. Cashman Casino Las Vegas Slots 
64. PokerStars: Texas Holdem Games 
65. Teen Patti Dhamal 
66. Lotus 365 
67. Satta King: Satta Matka Result 
68. Games 
69. CRICKET ΒΕΤЅ | All Cricket Βеt 
70. Roulette Online 
71. Bet Winner-Popular online game 
72. Teen Patti Lucky Gold 
73. Avia Pilot 
74. Record Trade 
75. Teen Patti Romio 
76. Rich Club 
77. Ludo Vungo 
78. Teen Patti Kash 
79. Lucky Star Slots-Vegas Casino 
80. Teen Patti Bhoomi: Patti Poker 
81. Teen Patti Guide 
82. DAFABET – 2022 
83. Bet O Bet-Live Sports Betting 
84. Megapari 
85. Spin casino: Slot machines 
86. Live Baccarat 
87. Betfair Live Line 
88. BetVictor Bet 
89. Blackjack Live 
90. ladbrokes odds&tips 
91. Rummy 
92. Zodiac Casino 
93. Grand Mondial Casino 
94. Videoslots Fun 
95. RABONA 
96. Royal Panda 
97. Casumo Casino 
98. Casumo Online Games: Extended 
99. Casumo Slots 
100. Vegas Royal 
101. betM – Sports Betting Tool 
102. MostBet 
103. Pure Win 
104. Zet Casino 
105. INDIBET 
106. Lottabet 
107. Wheel of Fortune 
108. MELBET 
109. Slots Machines – Vegas Casino 
110. Betvisa 
111. AndarBahar Poker 
112. Babu88 
113. 888STRAZ 
114. Trueflip 
115. Betindi 
116. Betobet 
117. Betkwiff 
118. Bambet 
119. Shangrila 
120. Come On 
121. Bons 
122. william Hill App 
123. NEO.Bet App 
124. PariPesa App 
125. Match Book App 
126. 4rabet App 
127. Tivit Bet App 
128. Fun88 
129. Royal Vegas 
130. Europa Casino 
131. Spin Casino 
132. Genesis Casino 
133. Jackpot City Casino 
134. OPPA 888 
135. Grand Mondial 
136. Zodiac Casino 
137. Rummy 
138. Live Blackjack (Blackjack 21: Live Casino game)